Drizzt
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Heist weapon a maiming machine
KATE DUBINSKI, Free Press Reporter 2005-08-22 01:20:45
The restricted semi- automatic rifle seized after last week's jewelry heist and police pursuit has a history as an easy-to-carry maiming machine.
"In the gang context, the AR-15 could be deemed a status symbol because it's small and light and compact in terms of assault rifles," said Marko Jugley, a gun owner and executive member of the Maple Leaf Marksmen Rifle and Revolver Club in St. Catherines.
The rifle's cartridges are also lightweight, allowing users to carry more ammunition at a time. That ammunition packs a nasty punch.
The rifle uses .223-calibre bullets -- also known as a 5.56 bullet -- which produces dramatic wounds. The bullet enters the body and quickly turns sideways, breaking into two major pieces and many small fragments.
The AR-15 is a civilian version of the M-16, used during the Vietnam War and designed to maim and incapacitate soldiers, said John Kellaway, president of the Maple Leaf club.
U.S. soldiers in Vietnam reported the bullets did not kill quickly and they often found the enemy by following a path of blood to a body.
An AR-15 assault rifle was found after four men walked into Anstett Jewellers in White Oaks shopping mall on Wednesday and stole an undisclosed amount of jewelry.
The men then led London Police on a wild chase through suburbs in the city's south end, at times hanging out of the sunroof of their vehicle, pointing the high-powered firearm at police cruisers, according to witness accounts.
At least one shot was fired at police, ricocheting off of the windshield of a cruiser, leaving a hole and slightly injuring an officer in the vehicle.
The rifle can be modified and weighs 2.9 kilograms to 3.6 kg.
The rifle can be modified to hold up to 40 rounds of ammunition, but in Canada is only allowed to hold five rounds in a detachable magazine.
Popular in gangsta rap lyrics, the weapon has drawn unwelcome attention in several high-profile shootings.
The AR-15 was used by snipers who terrorized the Washington, D.C., area in the fall of 2002. One woman was killed and several other people were injured in the attacks.
U.S. police warned the public the man known as the Olympic Park Bomber -- who detonated a bomb at the 1996 Atlanta games -- was known to carry an AR-15 rifle.
In Canada, the weapon is restricted.
"You used to be able to use it for hunting, but now it's restricted and all you can basically do with it is target practice," Kellaway said.
The starting cost is about $800 and the price can go as high as $3,000, depending on modifications.
Wednesday's heist left two men dead -- one of them Sean Patrick McGrath, 37, of Montreal -- and two in hospital. One of the survivors, Akili Roberts, 25, of Montreal, is charged with robbery.
http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/LondonFreePress/News/2005/08/22/1182846-sun.html
gosh, those things are dangerous..... This piece is so over the top, I don't even know where to begin.
KATE DUBINSKI, Free Press Reporter 2005-08-22 01:20:45
The restricted semi- automatic rifle seized after last week's jewelry heist and police pursuit has a history as an easy-to-carry maiming machine.
"In the gang context, the AR-15 could be deemed a status symbol because it's small and light and compact in terms of assault rifles," said Marko Jugley, a gun owner and executive member of the Maple Leaf Marksmen Rifle and Revolver Club in St. Catherines.
The rifle's cartridges are also lightweight, allowing users to carry more ammunition at a time. That ammunition packs a nasty punch.
The rifle uses .223-calibre bullets -- also known as a 5.56 bullet -- which produces dramatic wounds. The bullet enters the body and quickly turns sideways, breaking into two major pieces and many small fragments.
The AR-15 is a civilian version of the M-16, used during the Vietnam War and designed to maim and incapacitate soldiers, said John Kellaway, president of the Maple Leaf club.
U.S. soldiers in Vietnam reported the bullets did not kill quickly and they often found the enemy by following a path of blood to a body.
An AR-15 assault rifle was found after four men walked into Anstett Jewellers in White Oaks shopping mall on Wednesday and stole an undisclosed amount of jewelry.
The men then led London Police on a wild chase through suburbs in the city's south end, at times hanging out of the sunroof of their vehicle, pointing the high-powered firearm at police cruisers, according to witness accounts.
At least one shot was fired at police, ricocheting off of the windshield of a cruiser, leaving a hole and slightly injuring an officer in the vehicle.
The rifle can be modified and weighs 2.9 kilograms to 3.6 kg.
The rifle can be modified to hold up to 40 rounds of ammunition, but in Canada is only allowed to hold five rounds in a detachable magazine.
Popular in gangsta rap lyrics, the weapon has drawn unwelcome attention in several high-profile shootings.
The AR-15 was used by snipers who terrorized the Washington, D.C., area in the fall of 2002. One woman was killed and several other people were injured in the attacks.
U.S. police warned the public the man known as the Olympic Park Bomber -- who detonated a bomb at the 1996 Atlanta games -- was known to carry an AR-15 rifle.
In Canada, the weapon is restricted.
"You used to be able to use it for hunting, but now it's restricted and all you can basically do with it is target practice," Kellaway said.
The starting cost is about $800 and the price can go as high as $3,000, depending on modifications.
Wednesday's heist left two men dead -- one of them Sean Patrick McGrath, 37, of Montreal -- and two in hospital. One of the survivors, Akili Roberts, 25, of Montreal, is charged with robbery.
http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/LondonFreePress/News/2005/08/22/1182846-sun.html
gosh, those things are dangerous..... This piece is so over the top, I don't even know where to begin.
for my country's gun laws.
gun laws mean that we would be using it with 5-round magazines. Plus 3k ain't cheap 
